March 24, 2011

Think fast! Every waking moment involves choice. Android or iPhone? Pancakes or waffles? Boxers or briefs? Time to call it quits, or time for another drink? My place or yours? What exactly goes on in our brains when we’re confronted with so many options?

A leading pioneer in the new field of neuroeconomics, scientist and author Paul Glimcher uses the latest technology to uncover how brain biology controls decision-making. He asks: Why do wrong decisions sometimes feel so right? Are other animals ever irrational? Is money an outgrowth of our neural circuitry? What happens inside the brain when we choose to take risks?

The author of Foundations of Neuroeconomic Analysis and Neuroeconomics: Decision Making and the Brain, Dr. Glimcher is professor of Neural Science, Economics and Psychology at New York University and director of NYU’s Center for Neuroeconomics.

Before & After--Groove to synapse-stimulatingsounds--Stick around for the cerebralQ&A--Try our dopamine-spiked cocktail of the night, the "Brainstorm"--Snag a signed copy of Paul Glimcher's mind-blowing new book!

JUST ADDED! This brain-boggling evening will feature a special performance by theremin player Jen Rondeau. Eerie and ethereal, the theremin is one of the earliest electronic instruments—and one that is mysteriously played without touching. (Jen Rondeau will also be performing April 7 at the Knitting Factory Brooklyn with her band Changing Modes and April 20 - 23 as part of the upcoming Ensemble Studio Theatre workshop production of Pidgeon, the new play about physicist Leon Theremin, the instrument’s inventor.)

The Secret Science Club is curated by Dorian Devins, Margaret Mittelbach, and Michael Crewdson. Dorian Devins is an NYC-based jazz singer and lyricist, and the former host of WFMU's “The Speakeasy.” Margaret Mittelbach and Michael Crewdson write about nature in the strangest of places; they are co-authors of Carnivorous Nights and Wild New York.